How Much Does It Cost to Get a Book Read?

This chapter provides an overview of the operational costs and usage patterns of libraries in Burkina Faso that are supported by Friends of African Village Libraries. Data on totals of visits to libraries and book checkouts for lending libraries are summarized. Results of two studies that compare reading patterns in villages with libraries and those without suggest that libraries increase reading substantially. The chapter then presents a breakdown of expenses for operating modest one-room rural libraries, based on a decade’s worth of expense data maintained by FAVL. The usage figures and expense data permit a rough calculation of the cost of getting books read. The calculations suggest that for the young adult reading public in rural Burkina Faso, generating an extra book read each year costs somewhere between $1.50 and $4.00.